Police officer stabbed throughout an assault at an anti-Islam rally dies
- Six people were attacked at the rally in the German city of Mannheim on Friday
- The knifeman has been identified as 25-year-old Sulaiman Ataee
A 29-year-old police officer who was repeatedly stabbed during a frenzied attack at an anti-Islam rally in Germany has died.
Five others – including a well-known German Islam critic – were wounded when a knifeman launched the rampage in the city of Mannheim on Friday.
The policeman was ‘stabbed several times in the area of the head’ while trying to intervene, local police said in a statement.
He underwent emergency surgery following the attack and was put in an artifical coma but died of his injuries on Sunday.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was ‘deeply saddened’ by the death of the police officer.
‘His commitment to the safety of all of us deserves the highest recognition,’ Scholz said on X, formerly Twitter.
The policeman was previously identified as Rouven L. by German media and was being kept alive by a heart-lung machine.
The attacker has been identified as Sulaiman Ataee (pictured), 25, who immigrated to Germany from Afghanistan in 2014 when he was just 15
German police officers pay respect to their colleague who died after being stabbed
Flowers and candles are left in Mannheim city centre as tributes to the victims of the attack
Chaos broke out at the anti-Islam rally on Friday when a man dressed in a dark hooded jacket and tracksuit tackled began violently swinging a large blade
His colleagues were heard screaming ‘throw the knife away!’ However, with the knifeman not responding, the officers opened fire from near point blank range.
The attacker has been identified as Sulaiman Ataee, 25, who immigrated to Germany from Afghanistan in 2014 when he was just 15.
Ataee – who lived with his German wife and their two children, aged almost 1 and 3, – is still alive despite being shot at the scene.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner told the German newspaper, BILD that the death of the police officer ‘moves me deeply and makes me angry about what is happening in our country’.
‘We must defend ourselves against Islamist terrorism with determination, and we will also strengthen the security authorities financially,’ Lindner said.
Michael Stuerzenberger, an anti-Islam campaigner who was stabbed at the rally organised by Pax Europa, described the attack as an ‘absolute nightmare’.
Speaking for the first time from his hospital bed, Mr Stuerzenberger told BILD: ‘It was like an apocalypse. He was stabbing me, even when I was lying on the floor and was trying to fight him off with my feet. It really was a nightmare.’
He added: ‘Every attack is an attack against all of us, against our free democratic state and those who ensure our security. Who attacks a police officer launches an attack against all of us.’
Anti-Muslim campaigner Michael Stuerzenberger (pictured) has been speaking from his hospital bed after he was stabbed by a knifeman at an anti-Islam rally in Germany
Residents in Mannheim city centre were seen visibly upset while laying flowers and lighting candles at the seen of yesterday’s stabbing incident
People come to lay flowers and other tributes to the victims of the attack
The block of flats where the 25-year-old attacker lived in Heppenheim
Describing the attack, he said: ‘We were about to start the event when he suddenly came storming at us like a hurricane and stabbed one after the other. It was insane. I guess even the police were surprised.’
He explained: ‘He stabbed my thigh which someone immediately isolated. One stab wound above the knee, it could have been worse. Another on the side of the chest, my upper arm is injured and three stab wounds to the head. My upper lip was cut and I have a deep cut to my jaw.’
The 59-year-old yesterday posted a picture of himself on his Telegram channel from his hospital bed, showing a long, bandaged cut on his upper lip and cheek.
In a separate interview with Deutschland-Kurier, he said: ‘I’m alright given the circumstances. I’m happy for all involved that yesterday went somewhat mild. There could have been deaths. It was really bad what the Afghan did with his knife.
‘I’ve seen parts of the videos and the stab in the neck, twice, of the police officer. Hope his life is not in danger anymore. It was a clear attempted murder. Seven or eight stab wounds for me, one near lung, a bit closer and that would have been it.’
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Friday called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the attack.
‘If the investigations reveal an Islamist motive, this would be a further confirmation of the great danger posed by Islamist acts of violence,’ she said in a statement.
Germany has been on high alert for possible Islamist attacks since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, with the country’s domestic intelligence chief warning that the risk of such assaults is ‘real and higher than it has been for a long time’.
The country had also seen a spate of attacks on politicians at work or on the campaign trail ahead of EU elections on June 9.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said last week that he was worried by the growing trend and said Germans ‘must never get used to violence in the battle of political opinions’.
Police officers arrived at the scene of the attack – which took place in the city’s market square – almost immediately.
Neighbours of the attacker told MailOnline of their shock at what had happened.
The aftermath of the stabbing is seen in the German city of Mannheim
During the attack bystanders attempted to drag the knifeman away. One of his victims is seen with wounds to his thigh
The savage blade is clearly seen in this grab from the YouTube live stream as the attack goes to stab the officer in the neck
Leo, 21, who also brought flowers to express his sympathy for the victims, added: ‘To see something like that happen in a place where we spend a lot of time ourselves and to know that could have also been a friend, my girlfriend or myself standing there, that obviously really shocked me’
‘He used to be normal,’ said 31-year-old Abdul, who lives in the same building.
‘I have seen him sometimes with his wife and his children, but I don’t know that much about him,’ Abdul added.
‘He was inconspicuous, we greeted each other usually,’ one neighbour told Bild.
‘But recently, about a year ago, I noticed that he had changed. He was helpful before, then suddenly he turned cold. He suddenly became more reserved – and also more aggressive.’
‘He has changed,’ another confirmed to Focus, adding that Ataee appeared ‘slightly more aggressive’, which they said caused friction in the building.
In a building with 14 residential flats, it’s easy to keep to oneself, which Ataee mostly did, according to a man living in the area.
The 35-year-old, whose parents live in the same high-rise as the knifeman, told MailOnline: ‘None of the residents who I know or my parents know have seen the police even raid the flat on Friday night – let alone the attacker.’
One neighbour told Focus about Ataee’s wife: ‘She was cold, not as friendly as him.’ Another added that while both were quiet and appeared friendly, they never really spoke to anyone at all.
‘I just feel sorry for his wife and kids. They have to suffer now because of what that man did,’ a woman, who lives on the same floor as the killer, said.
